By Max Davies
GIVING students a voice is a priority for Whittlesea Secondary College’s newly appointed principal Kathy Mourkakos.
Having worked at the school since 1997, Ms Mourkakos has filled a range of roles including year level coordinator, science curriculum leader, integration coordinator, and assistant principal.
Ms Mourkakos took over from outgoing principal Lian Davies and hopes to continue the positive work happening at the college.
“I’m really looking to continue the great work that’s been going on at the school and make it into a place that the Whittlesea community can be proud of – maybe become a bit of a community hub for the area,” she said.
“Students are always my priority, I just think everyone can learn and achieve given the right opportunities and the right support.
“I’d like to be able to give the students more of a voice so they can be a little bit more autonomous in their learning, letting them make their own decisions so they can reflect on what works for them and what doesn’t so they can take the lead in their development.”
Being involved with Whittlesea Secondary College for more than 20 years and working as assistant principal with Ms Davies, Ms Mourkakos has experience with the school and the principal’s role.
She assumed the role of acting principal for term four in 2021 and term two in 2022.
Ms Mourkakos said while she had a solid foundation to work from, she was aware of some of the challenges the school faced and hoped to make improvements.
“Whittlesea Secondary is a bit of an older school now, and some of the facilities and spaces aren’t quite up to date anymore,” she said.
“We’re going to look to making the learning environment more modern and much more in line with what you might find at other schools, just so Whittlesea students have access to the same kinds of opportunities and facilities as everyone else.”
Ms Mourkakos started as principal in term three and will work with students and staff to generally improve the school for the Whittlesea community.
